Hey guys. Noob here. Possibly buying an 02 rex tomorrow.
checked the stickies... no help...
66k miles
negotiated him down to 8.5 k. Had it inspected and it has these problems so now i will not buy it for more than 6.5k.
needs 3k of maintenance:
brakes front replace (rust)
Rear brakes (rust)
axel leaking
psv covers replace (2)
timing belt (will change water pump)
brake fluid, it was really old

BONE STOCK

it looks very good on the outside, and has no rust visible on the frame (yet)

The main thing Im worried about is the rust. I live in florida, and this car has been to washington, penn, and Michigan, and has presumably seen its fair share of winters. i talked to my mechanic today and he said not to buy it because once a vehicle has been up north and had exposure to the road salt, there is no stopping the corrosion. Will i see it slowly deteriorate here in florida from those winters like other northern cars? Should i buy it?

I have lived in Tennessee and we use salt on our roads out there, and brought a 95 camaro back from there with salt corrosion, sand blasted the areas that were bad, gave it some amazing washes, then some good paint and never had an issue till I sold it a few months ago to get my wrx.
had the car for 6 years after I bought it.
so just depends on how well you take care of the car and the areas you see the rust and you will be good as gold.
now as far as the maintenance, seems to me like normal maintenance for 60K
besides the axel leak